Interlock



Oct. 9, 1945. w. F. REGENHARDT INTERLOCK Filed May 31, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 WALTER F. RE.GENHARDT' Oct. 9, 1945. w. F. REGENHARDT INTERLOCK 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 31, 1941 .mm.nm m\m Am 1 NW im- INVENTOR WALTER FC REGENHARDT Oct. 9, 1945-. w. F. REGENHARDT INTERLOGK Filed May 51, 1941 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR WALTER F. RE6ENHARDT .murmcx Walt6uf' F. Regegllmrt, 'Wo0stef, am. Applicmtflm Mauy 31,T1941, Se rial N0. 395,999 4 3 Clailms. (m. 312- 11) "I'he piesent. invention relates to an in'terlock,

xannd more particularly to anlnterlock for locking a plurality of flle casings together for forming afilingcabinet. m

' An object 01 the invention is to provlde mach anisn'm for interlocking two confront ing wa.1ls of adjacent flle casings by merely pro;erly aligning and then slidlng one of the casings relative to the other.

A further object 01 t1 1e invention 1s 120 provide dnterlocking mechanism for locking together adjac ent Walls 013 flle casings;whlch mechanism may be formed -by -the material comprising the' walls.

Another object oflthe ifivention' is to provide mechanism for interlocking confronting wal1s o1 two flle 'casings, whlch mechanlsm comprises a projectlng locking member on one of the-walls shown in Figi, t ;he sedtlon belng ta#ken on line 'l-'l of.-Fig. 4; 1

Fig. 81s a view slmllar to Fig. l, but the section 'being taken on llne 88 o1? Fig. 5';'

Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken on line 9-9 ofthree flle casings connected w1th one another by the connector plates shown inFigs. 10 -and 12; anal Fig. 14 1s a, fragmentary view, in section, the

- section being' taken 0n line I4M of F1g. 13, but

and an element on the other 01 the wa1ls for extending in a passage formed in the locking member'for prevc'anting separa tion of the walls,.

the element lying in substantially the same plane as t.he Wall with whichit 1s associated. so that the element will n'ot interfere w1th or eateh on surfaces or ob;lects against w1xi ih the latter wall may be plac'zed.

A still further object of the-invention1s to provide mechanism for interlocking flle casings stacked on one another and'file csings ad;lacent the stacked casings;

{ ings wherein preferred forms o'f embodiments of the present inventlon are clearly shown. In the drawings:

.Fig. 1'1s a view of two flle casingsone of which a. fillng cabinet;

F1g. 2 is a view showing one 01 the flle casings on a larger scale.

Although the present invention reiates 1:0 an

11'1te1lock which may be employed for-interlock- Ing two confronting sheet like walls of practically any;type, for the purposes of illustrating' a. pre- 4 ferred form of the invention, I have shown in is about to be stacked on the other for forming stacked on the other and attached thereto, the

drawer o1 the upper'casing. being removed, and

the drawings two flle casings 20, which c asings may be interlocked, Wall 120 wall, *by my inventlon. 'I'he flle casings 20, prefera'bly a.re each formed by a sheet metal rectangular sleeve formed by any suitable method. The rear end of the sleeve is cl0sed by a, sheet metal wal1 22, anti -a. rectangularly shaped band 23 (see Fig. 3), preferably I'ormed of steel, is welded to the inside of the sleeve at the forward end thereof. 'I'he casings 20 are adapted 130 receivqsuitable d rawers 24, Whlch drawers. are provided with pull handles 25. The bottom walls 26 of the casings 20 a.re provided with two. openings 28, -at the forward ends thereof, and two opening's 30 adjacent the rear ends thereof. The openings 28 and 30 mapy be formed -in the bottom Walls of the casings py suitable dies, and the openings 30 are -formed so a portion of the wall of the upper casing being 4 cut away;

Flg. 3 1s a fragmentary view, in section and on a larger scale, of the filecases shown in Fig'. 2, the sectlon being taken on line 3--3 of Flg. 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary, plan view of a. flle cas- Fig. 5 is a fragmentary plan view o1 the tiasing that a torierue 31 extends from one edge of each of the openings, rearwardly in the' openings. Preferably, the tongues 3I are formed by portions of the meta.l forming the walls 26, und. the tongues extend in the same plane as the walls 26. It is to "be noted that Joy this arrangement there are no projections extending from the bottom Walls of' the c'asings. I prefer that the rear of the openings 30 be arcuate in shape.

The top walls 34 of the casings 20'are provided, ab their forward ends, with upwardly extending bulged portions 35. These bulged portions may be formed by slitting the top wall and then pressing the materlal forwardly bf the slits upwardly by sultable dies. Th dies form the bulges so tha.t the bulges may enter the openings 26 formed in the bottom wall of another casing 20. The bulged portions 35 provide downwardly extending shoulders 36 and forwardly facing shoulders 31.

The slits mentioned above cause mouths 36 to be formed in the bulges 35, which mouths face rearwardly. The openlngs 28 formed in the bottom W8.lls 26 of the caslngsare of such form the.t they receive the bul8es 35 therein when one of the casings is stack d on another casing, and the edges cf the openings 28 closely embrace the sides of the bulges 35 for preventing lateral movexnent o! the casings with respect 120 one another. The height of the bulges 35 is such that the shoulders 36, formed by the bulges 35, extend beyond the inner side of the bottom wall 26, of the upper casing, so tha.t legs 40 of a suitable locking member 41 may be inserted through the mouths 30 and beneath the shoulders 36.

Two bulges 44 are formed adjacent the rear of the top walls 34 of the casings 20, and these bul8es may be formed in a manner sirnilar to that in which the bulges 35 are formed. Preferably, the

bulges 44 Iare formed having Iorwardly facing mouths 45. These bulges provide downwardly facing abutments 46 and upwardly extending, rearwardly facing shoulders 41, which shoulders are curved at the top of the bulges. Preferably the rear 01 the bulges 44, wh1ch form the shoulders 41, are arcuate in form and shaped sir nilarly to the rear of the openings 30. The: bulges44 are positioned to be in alignment with the openings 30 when the &sings 20 are stacked with the side walls thereof in alignment. Preferably, the height of the bulges 44 and also the bulges 35, is such that several thicknesses of sheet metal may be inseroed, simultaneously, through the mouths 45 and 38, respectively.

When it ls desirable to form a file cabinet by stacking two or more of the file casings 20, the casings 20 are stacked and lnterlocked by resting the rear of the hottom wall 26 of one f the casings upon the top Wall of another of the casings with the tongues 3lof the bottom Wall 26, in alignment with and acliacent to the mouths 45 of the bulge 44. The upper casing is then slid rearwardly so that the tongues 3l extend through the mouths 45 and beneath the abutments 46 formed by the bulges 44. The rear edges cf the openings 30, engage the curved Sh0u1ders 41 of the bulges, am! the curved, downwardly extending portions of the shoulclers 41, gulde the edges of the openings 30, downwardly about the bulgeg 44. It ls apparent tha.t if the rear portion cf the upper casing tends 130 be raised, due to the drawer being drawn partly out of the casing, for example, the tongues 3I will engage the abutments 46 for preventing separation of the casings. Also, the bulges 44 cooperate with the edges of the openings 30 for preventing sliding of the upper casing.

After the tongues 3l are inserted under the ahntments 46 of the bulgecl portions 44, the forward portion of the upper casing 20 is lowered so that the casing rests upon the top wa.ll 34 of the lower casing. When in this position, the bulgeg 35 formed on the top wall 34 cf the lower casing will extend through the openings 23, and the legs 40 of the locking member 4l can be inserted in the mouths 38 of the bulges 35 for locking the forward ends of the casings together.

The locking member 4l is similar to that described in my copending application Ser. N0. 365,231, filed November 12, 1940. The legs 40 0.f

the locking member 4I a.re adapted to engage the abutments 36 of the bulges 35 for preventing separation of the forward ends of the caslngs. Laterally extending portions 48 of the locking member 41 engage the forwardly facing shoulders 31 of the bulges for assisting in lockingthe member 4l in Position. Thus, a composite cabinet ma.y be formed by interlocking the adjacent walls of the casings together by my improvad interlock.

Referring 1:0 Figs. 4, 5, 7, and 8, some file pasings, one cf which is shown in part ab 43, have been manufactured in which the top walls thereof were provided with bulges simila.r to t;he bulges 35, and having slit-like openings 50 formed by making U-shaped cuts in th wall and depressing the metal bounded by the cuts in the form of downwardly and rearwardly extending tongues 5l. An example of this type of file casing ls more fully shown and described in my application mentloned above. In order adapt this style o1 casing for use with the casings 20, I have provided an adapter plate 52 which ma.y be attached to the top walls of the casings 49. The plates 52 are preferably formed cf sheet metal, and they a.re provided with bulges 54, which bulges may be formed similafly to the bulges 44. The bulges 54 are spaced apart the same distance Es the bulges 44, and 'form downwardly facing abutment 55. These bulges are also provlded with forwardly facing mouths 56. Elognated slots 51 are formed adjacent the bulges 54, which slots may be formed by making U-shaped cuts in the' plate 52, a.nd

then turnln'g the metal bounded thereby downwardly for f0rming tongues 56. The tongues 58 are adapted to be inserted in the openings 50 of t-he old style casings, and when the platze 52 is 511d rea.rwardly the tongues 58 move beneath the inner side cf the top wall of the casing 40, thereby preventin'g the plate 52 from being removed upwardly from the casing. It is appa.rent that a. casing 20 may then be attached to the top wall of the old style casing by inserting the tongues 3 l formed on the bottom wall 26, into the mouths 56 cf the bulges 54, and the tongues 3l will engage the abutments 55 of the bulges 54 for preventing forward tilting of the casing 20. Since the forward part of the casings are locked against lateral movement by the locking arrangement described above with reference to the bulges 35 entering the openings 28, the plate 52 Will be pfevented from sliding forwardly and disengaging the tongues 58 from the inner side cf the lower casing. Tims, the type 012 casin'g shown at 40 can be adapted to be used with the casings disclosed in the present applicatlon by the use of the platze 52.

Although I have shown how the top and bottom Walls of stacked casings may be interlocked, lt is to be understood that other walls of the file casings could be interlocked by the same mechanism. For example, the side walls of adjoining cases could be interlocked by my mechanism,

When two o1 more stacks of casings 20 are arranged side by side for forming a composi te filing cabinet, it is desirable to interlock the casings of one stack with the casings of an adjacent stank. Referring 110 Fig. 10 of the drawings, I have shown a platte 60 which may be usecl for interlocking two of the casings 20 in adjacent stacks. Platze 60 is preferably formed cf sheet metal, and it is provided with openings 6I, which openings are similar in shape anal size to the openings 30 formed in the bottom walls 26 of the casings 20. Tongues 62 ext-end into the openings 6l, and these tongues 62 are similar to of the casings 20. The openlngs 8l a.re 'spaced apart so that when the side wallsof two caslngs substantlally abut one another, one of the tongues 62 can be lnser ted into a mouthof one of the bulges 24 formed on the top Wall of one oi the casings and the other of the tongues located a.t one side of the tlrst mentioned ca.sing for attaching another caslng 20. Although theplates 60 and 'l0overlap one another and 62 can be inserted in the mouth 45 cf one of the bulges 44 formed on the top wallof the other of the caslngs. Also, a plate 60 can be attached in a sixhllar manner to the bulges 36 a1: the freut of the caslngs. The tongues 62 engage the abutments 36 and 46, formed .by the bulges 35 and. M, for preventlng the plates 60 from being l6cldentally removed from the casings, and the edges cf the openings 6l cooperate wlth the sldes of the bulges for preventing separation of the casings. This arrangement is illustrated in Fig. 11 wherein two of the plates 60 are shown atbached to two casings 20, which caslngs are arranged with side walls thereof in abutting relation.

As pointed out hereinbefore, the heights o.f

the bulges 35 and M are such that several thlck-' nesses of sheet meta1 may be inserted in the mouths 33 and 45, respectlvely. Thus, additional caslngsmay be stacked on casings lnterlocked by the plates 60, and these adidtional casings can be attached to the top walls of the first two csings in the manner described with reference to the caslngs shown in Figs. 1 to 3.

A filing cabinet may be formed by arranglng two o1 more casings 20 with the rear walls thereof adjacent one another. In tlvis instance lt is desirable to secure the real portions of these casings to one another fr forming a composite filing cabinet. Referring to Fig. 12, I have shown a platze 10 which may be used for this purpose. Platefil is provided with two spaced openings II, which openings are similar to the openings 6l formed in the platze 60, and tongues 12 extend in the openings H. The tongues 12 are similar to the tongu8s 62 describ:zd with reference to the plates 60. The platze 10 is also provided with -two openings I3, which openings are similar, in shape and dimensions, to the openings 28 formed in the bottom walls 26 of the casings 20. The openings H and 13 are spaced from one another, respectively, the same distance that the bulges 35 and Mare spaced from one another respectively. The openings 13 are spaced frorr1 the openings II so that the tongues 12 may be inserted in the mouths 45 of the bulges 44 formed on the top wall of one cf the cas'ings 20, and the openings 13 may receive the bulges 44 of the other casing that is arranged with the rear wall thereof adjacent; the rear wallbf the first mentioned casing. This arrangement is illustrated in Figs. 13 and 14. It is apparent; that the edges of the openings 'II' and 13 will cooperate with the sides-uf the bules 44 and will prevent the casin s from being slid 0utwardlly from one another. The tongues 12 assist in maintaining the pl-ate 10 in position on the casings. Preferably, the plates 60 and 10 are formed of sheet metal that is sufficiently thin, and the bulges 44 of such height, that both of these plates may be attached to the casings as described hereinbefore, and yet the tongues 3lof another casing may .be received in the mouths 45 of the bulges to Which the plates are asso surmund one cf the bulges 44, the bottom wall of another casing can be attached to the latter bulge M. This is lllustrated 1 n Fix. 14 whereln a. plate 60 ls superimposed over the plate 10, and a tongue 62 of the plate 60 ls shown extending in 1 mechanism that can be-used to lnterlock ad:lacent walls of flling cablnets, and which mechanlsxh can be readily formed; Also, the simpllcity o! the mechanism is such that unskilled persons may readily form a composite flling eabinet by interlocking a plurality of casings.

It is to be underst0od that the .thicknesg of the sheet metal shown in the drawlng's has been greatly exaggerated foi the sake'of clarity, and that when the filing casings and the plates 60, 60, and 10 are formed of material havlng the proper thickness the walls 013 the casings lnterconnected by the p1ates 50, 60, and 10 are substantially even and in alignment with one another, although these plates may be interposed between the walls of the casings.

Whilev the forms 013 embodiments o1 the present invention as herein .disclosed constltute preferred forms, i-t is to be understood that. other forms might be adopted, all coming within the scope of the claims which follow:

1. In a filing cabinet, in*combination, two walls disposed in side tb side relation, means for securing the walls agairlst Separation comprising a bulged portion a1; one end of one wall, said bu'lged portion having an open side, the other wallhaving an opening corresponding substantlally inshape and position to said bulged portion and receiving the same when said walls are disposed in side to side relation, tonue means on said other wal1 extending into the opening at one end, said tongue being in the same plane as said other Wall and receivable =by the open side df the bu1ged portion on the firsi; mentioned wa11 when said bulged portion is disposed in the opening in said other wall, and a locking member for said walls at the opposite end of said walls.

2. In a flllng cabinet, in combination, a pair of walls disposed in side to side relation, a second pair of walls arranged in substantially the same planes as the first mentioned walls, one wall of each pair of walls having a bulged portion at one end thereof, each bulged portion having an open side, a tie platze interposed between the walls 01 both pairs of walls and having two openings corresponding substantially in shape and position to said bulged portions, one of said openings receiving the bulged portion of one cf said walls and the other receiving the bulged portion of the other of said walls, the other walls of the pairs of walls having openings corresponding substantially in shape and position to said bulged portions and receiving the same when the respective walls of the pair are arranged in side to side relation said other Walls of the pairs of walls each having a tongue'formed integrally there-' wi th and extending into the opening thereof and lym g in the same plane a's the respective integral yvall, the tongue of one of said walls extending mto the open side of the bulged portion of the wlth, means a1: the ends o1 the walls opposite the bulged end1 fqr interlocking the flrst pa1r '01! wall.s wlth onanother und Ior interlockinz the second palr o! wa1ls w1-th one another.

3. In a, fl1ing cablnet, in combination, a. pa.ir 01 W8118 disposed in slde to slde relation, a, second hab o! walls arranzed in substaz'ztially the same plane; as the flrst mentloned yvalls, one Wall 01 euch pa1r 01 Walls having a bulged portion at one end thereof, euch bulged portion havlng an open slde, a tcle platze interposed between the wal1s ot both pairs 01 walls und havlng two openings corresponding substantially in shape .and posit1on to seid bulzed portions, one of said openlngs receiving the bulgecl portlon of one o! said Walls and the other rece iving the bulged portion 01 the other 01 said. Walls, a tongue formed integrally with the tie plate und extending 1nto the open side o! one o! the bulged portions, the other wa.1ls o! the pairs otwalls having op enlngs c0r-' responding substantlally in shape a.nd position to sa.hgl bulged portions und recelving the same whenthe respecve Walls o1 the palrs are arranged h 1 side to sicle relation, said other walls 01 the pairs 01 walls ea.ch having a tongue tonned integrally therewlth and extendlng into the open- 1ng thereo! und lyil1g in the same plane a.s the respective integral Wall, the tongue o! one of aaid walls extending into the open slde o! be bulged portion of th'e Wall mating therewlth und the tongue of the other o: said walls extending lnto the open side of the bulged portion 01 the wall matin therewith. meana a1: the ends o! the walls opposite the bulged ends tor interlocking the first pair o! Walls wlth one another und tot interlocking the second pair o1 wall.s with one another.

WALTER F. REGENI-IARD'I. 

